Conserving rain water is a good investment for both short and long term. These systems offer a good return and may become a cost-effective alternative for your household or commercial water needs.

Purchasing a rainwater harvesting system in Florida is a particularly smart choice. The rising cost of utilities makes it a sound financial investment, especially for homeowners living in high-water-rate areas.

How does the system pay off in the short term?

Higher rates per gallon of water and tiered rating systems, has resulted in higher utility bills. Plus, the tiered system charges more for higher water consumption, instead of using a flat rate. In Miami, the rates further increased last year in October.

The rates will continue to increase each year. This means rainwater harvesting makes sense financially, helping you to decrease monthly water bills.

The increase in rate is driven by a variety of factors, diminishing supply of fresh water, growing population and increasing water demand, and higher costs of water processing. This makes rainwater harvesting a viable option to help meet your daily water needs.

How soon does it pay off?

As we discussed above, short term advantages are almost immediate. Of course, you save significantly in the long run. The question is how soon you can recover the cost of investment.

Spending money on a rainwater harvesting system will deliver increasingly better returns.

The savings continue to mount for the lifetime of the system, often accelerating with increasing water rates.

By calculating its payback period, you can determine if investing in rainwater harvesting is a good option for you right now.

Payback period = Amount invested

Estimated savings

The cost of an active rainwater harvesting system varies with the specifics such as: amount of piping required, above or below ground installation, number of pumps etc., and will typically cost $3 to $6 per gallon according to the system size.

Of course, these calculations are only estimates; the actual costs may vary for size requirements, local rainfall rates, system features, water rates, and installation costs.

For example, consider a 4,000-gallon system costs $15,000. If the monthly water bill costs $200 and it increases yearly by 3%, the amount you pay in 10 years will be equal to $27,513.

Assume you can fulfill at least 50% of water needs with the harvested rainwater. This will save you $1376 a year, or $15000 in 10.9 years.

The cost of residential water increased over 11% for 6 to 9 ccf usage last year. Even if the increase continues at 10%, you’ll save the amount in 7.8 years!

Not only do you have a continuous supply of water, but you can also save costs on bills. So, what are you waiting for? Start saving today by opting for our rainwater harvesting solutions!